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Jamie Cullum plays ‘Losing You’, the title track from the full album out now on Impossible Ark Records:

‘What a superb track that is… It’s a really interesting record, more of a Rhythm and Blues, country-blues influence, as well as the jazz in there on this whole album. Beautifully produced, it’s a wonderful sounding record, it has some real eclectic moments on it… A really great step forward for Sara and I highly recommend you listen to the whole album.’ Jamie Cullum, BBC Radio 2, 30/06/15.

“She has the courage to take chances and her musical sense of adventure continually serves her well… her disciplined voice and innate style clearly mark Sara Mitra as a jazz singer of note” BluesBunny Reviews

“Her singing is always surrounded by an on point instrumentation… Playful character and beautiful vocals”Mos Eisley Reviews

“It touches us deep inside, it makes us dream and focus in that sublime sound of her voice… Beautiful.”B-Authentique

‘Losing You’ was also chosen as one of Bandcamp‘s “New and Notable Records” May 12th 2015: “Mitra’s sultry vocals shine on this rootsy, and occasionally bluesy, sophomore album of folk, jazz, and soul…”

“Singer and songwriter Sara Mitra’s début album “April Song” attracted a compelling degree of critical acclaim not just on this site but also from more influential commentators such as Jamie Cullum and Gilles Peterson. I caught part of Mitra’s set at the Market Hall which found her in the company of most of the members of the very classy band that graces her album. James Allsopp (reeds), Fulvio Sigurta (trumpet), Ross Stanley (piano, organ ), Riaan Vosloo (double bass) and Mitra’s husband Tim Giles (drums) are among the UK’s foremost jazz musicians and all contributed substantially to a well programmed and highly convincing performance by the singer.

Mitra proved to be a surprisingly compelling and confident performer with a wide vocal and emotional range. I arrived just in time to catch a Sigurta trumpet solo but the first song I heard in its entirety was “Understand”, scheduled to appear on Mitra’s second album, with its sly lyrical allusions to the jazz standard “All Of Me”.

The Rogers and Hart tune “To Keep My Love Alive” was a blackly humorous tale about a female serial killer, a kind of “black widow” character and was delivered with obvious relish by Mitra with Ross Stanley taking the instrumental honours at the piano.

At this point the band left the stage leaving Mitra alone with her RC20XL live looper for a delicately layered solo vocal rendition of the traditional Irish folk song “Black Is The Colour”, a tune which appears on “April Song” and represents Mitra’s acknowledgement of her part Irish heritage.

The band rejoined her for the jazz standard “Who Can I Turn To” with Allsopp on tenor and Stanley on piano impressing as instrumental soloists. Pared down to a quartet with Stanley on organ and with Vosloo as featured soloist Mitra and the group then delivered a beautiful version of Nat Adderley’s “The Old Country”, another tune sourced from the “April Song” album.

Next came the playful, Latin tinged “Going Home Alone” from the yet to be released second album played by the quartet with Stanley excelling at the piano. The horns then returned for “Let Me Love You” with Allsopp on bass clarinet and Stanley soloing at the organ.

An excellent set concluded with the song “Love Affair” with Stanley still on organ and with Allsopp delivering a superb solo on the tenor.

I’m not always a big fan of singers but I was highly impressed by Mitra. If “April Song” hints at a certain fragility her live performances are anything but. Mitra’s sassiness and excellent technical skills suggest that a degree of mainstream success awaits if she wants it. Many of her band members are into more experimental projects but their versatility suggests that they enjoy playing in this context too- and of course the standard of musicianship is superb. The chances are we’ll be hearing a lot more of Sara Mitra.” Ian Mann, The Jazz Mann review

“Another Brecon highlight was Sara Mitra‘s afternoon gig in the Market Hall. This was a personal landmark event for this inspiring young singer. If debut albums are very often destined to sit indefinitely in the same boxes they arrive in, Mitra has bucked that trend. She told me gleefully after the gig that the last copies of her first album ‘April Song’ had completely sold out. This wasn’t a big suprise to me because she’s developing quite a following. Both Jamie Cullum and Gilles Peterson have heaped praise on this first album, Cullum for her sheer quality and Peterson for her very individual Englishness. But hearing her live, one gets a strong sense that she has already moved forward since making that debut recording. The voice can be small-scale, teasing, delicate. But (maybe recent motherhood makes a difference, how would I know?) when she turns on the gas, she has the power to both soar over and cut through the band’s textures. And the band is a Rolls-Royce of top UK players, capable of establishing the very different character of each of the songs right from the start. James Allsopp is an awesomely-equipped saxophone player who can switch effortlessly from soothing mainstream tenor in the manner of Zoot Sims to free and forceful bass clarinet taking forwards the legacy of Eric Dolphy. Fulvio Sigurta is a poetic trumpeter who always has a story to tell. Riaan Vosloo is one of the most musicianly bassists around, Ross Stanley the in-demand pianist and organist, and Tim Giles is an instinctively creative drummer who always has a surprise up his sleeve.” Sebastian Scotney, Jazz FM

“…the first ‘discovery’ of the weekend; vocalist Sara Mitra appearing over in the Market Hall with pretty much the whole of Nostalgia 77 behind her. Presenting with all the charming stagecraft of a classic jazz singer, her chirpily delivered ‘love’ songs are actually barbed and cynically realistic cautionary tales bursting with musical ebullience. It’s a bitter-sweet cocktail made compelling by her superb voice and the band’s shimmering presence” Tony Benjamin, Venue Magazine.

“Allen Toussaint, Monty Alexander, Sara Mitra and Phronesis were some of the major acts delighting the festival goers at Brecon… Mitra wowed audiences in the Market Hall with a set that also showcased great sax playing from James Allsopp.” Martin Chilton, The Daily Telegraph.

JazzUK Review of ‘April Song’ album launch gig at The Vortex, London Nov 2010.

“…Her warm, slightly gauche persona engages immediately, as if she takes her music seriously but herself less so… Her own songs, Jilted Woman Blues and The Choice are witty and assured and she handles matters of the heart and weightier subjects with equal ease.” Duncan Heining, JazzUK Magazine